BOONE, N.C. -- Mike Adams was there Sunday afternoon with the rest of the South Carolina State Bulldogs.

Most of the time, the first-year defensive coordinator kept his hands tucked behind his back, nervously looking up at the screen inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. All along, South Carolina State’s coaching staff had a feeling that the Bulldogs could get matched up with Appalachian State. so when the pairing flashed across the screen on ESPNU Adams was less than shocked.

“Actually, talking to (Adams), he said this is what he wanted to do,” SCSU linebacker Marshall McFadden said shortly after Sunday’s FCS selection show. “Because ... now we have the opportunity to show the world what we can do and what we are capable of doing.”

Asking for App? Most people would say that’s a little crazy, but as soon as the selection came down the pipe North Carolina became the Bulldogs’ proving ground. A win against the three-time defending national champions would shake the FCS’ foundation. But, to beat App. State you have to slow down the Mountaineers’ vaunted offense, so heading into today’s noon contest Adams may be the coach most in the crosshairs. The good news: Adams’ unit is ranked fourth in total defense in the FCS. The bad news: App. State’s offensive unit is ranked third overall in the FCS.

That Mountaineer offensive unit is led by All-SoCon quarterback Armanti Edwards, a Greenwood native who has passed for 2,146 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 890 yards and nine more scores. Edwards has thrown 171 consecutive passes without an interception and his 178.5 passing efficiency is second-highest in the nation.

“People talk about Armanti, and the next thing you hear is about their skill players,” Adams said. “But, they have tremendous quality up front. They are coached well, and it’s a tremendous scheme.”

Of course, Adams would know because he’s proven to be a student of the game. Over the course of the past week, he’s watched every piece of App. State film he could get his hands on. If the Mountaineers have it in the playbook there’s a good chance Mike Adams has seen them run it.

“We have every game they have played, and I have looked through each of them,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much we have watched, but we have tried to get our kids familiar with four or five games we thought were pertinent to our style of defense. I feel like we have watched plenty of film, but I would like to go watch another game or two (Friday) and another game or two (Saturday morning).”

When South Carolina State settled into Boone Friday, Adams called his defense together. He looked right into his players’ eyes -- all of whom were not alive the last time South Carolina State made the playoffs -- and liked what he saw.

“I will be honest ... tonight, the amount of focus our kids had was impressive,” Adams said. “They are determined to do their jobs, stay in their gaps and make the right reads. I tried to force them to be more focused than excited. (App. State) is a tremendous offense and they are a tremendous team. It’s an exciting time for us.

“I’ve talked about it with our kids,” he added. “We have to go into the game with a lot of intensity, and if everybody does their job we are going to be fine. We are playing a team that forces you to play every gap. Their range of plays is from the ‘A’ gap all the way to the sideline to the end zone. We have to make the proper reads.

“We have developed a way of playing, and now we just have to keep it going.”

n T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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